David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and More: A Look Back at the Real-Life Club Kids in HBO’s Vinyl

Before there was Studio 54, there was Max’s Kansas City. First opened in 1965, the dark den of a downtown New York club and restaurant was a place free of disco and full of misfit crowds of artists and glam-rock musicians, the likes of which included Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Patti Smith. The Velvet Underground was the house band, playing a live soundtrack to a nightly plot of hedonistic activities—sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll really was a thing here. Now the memory of Max’s is being resurrected through HBO and Martin Scorsese’s new series, Vinyl, premiering Sunday. Set in 1970s New York City, the drama follows a music executive (Bobby Cannavale) as he parties around town looking for new artists to sign. One of Vinyl’s standout venues happens to be Max’s Kansas City, or at least a re-creation of the original club that was officially shuttered in 1981. Above, a look inside the legendary club.